


swim so wild and so free

by rosieeexox



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/M, M/M, a lot of fluffy shark stalking, also a lot of awful shark puns prepare yourselves, and implied smut, and kissing, not that much angst tbh, theres past niam but its not really relevant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-20
Updated: 2015-05-20
Packaged: 2018-03-31 09:32:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3972958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosieeexox/pseuds/rosieeexox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>prompt: National Geographic writer Louis Tomlinson is sent to Greenland, Canada, Norway, and Iceland to document and write about to elusive and lovely Greenland shark. He is accompanied by photographer Zayn Malik, Marine Biologist Liam Payne, resident cook/shark enthusiast Harry Styles, and conservationist Niall Horan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	swim so wild and so free

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nostalgicplant](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nostalgicplant/gifts).



> pinch hitting this prompt for oultrepreuious cause I'm procrastinating studying for finals!
> 
> I looked up a lot of shark facts (and puns) for this so if you ever needed to actually write an article on greenland sharks you'd be set! I also had to use a lot of math to figure out how long it would take the average greenland shark to swim from place to place so this fic is super accurate, you're welcome. they're also hella touristy in canada because what else are they gonna do for a month. (why are greenland sharks so slow, honestly.)
> 
> also, a gigantic shoutout to amarra for always beta-ing for me and catching all my pathetic grammatical errors, she is truly a gift.
> 
> title is from the ridiculous baby beluga song that's been stuck in my head since I read this prompt

It starts in Norway and ends in London.

* * *

 

When Louis got an internship at the National Geographic headquarters in London, he never imagined he'd actually work his way up to a member of the writing team. But here he is, three years later, and about to write his first cover story. His boss had called him at an ungodly hour about a week beforehand to let him know that he'd be flying to Norway and traveling by boat for three months, following a Greenland shark from there to Canada. They had already assembled a team for him. All he had to do was pick a photographer.

Zayn.

Louis met Zayn during his first few weeks as an intern. Zayn had been an intern the previous year and was already an official photographer for National Geographic. As soon as Louis' year was up and he landed a job as the editors secretary, the two moved in together. It wasn't lost on Louis how pretty Zayn was, and he can honestly say he's only thought about shagging him a couple of times, but they've never been anything more than friends. Not that anyone believes them. Their friendship evolved so quickly, there wasn't really time for any awkward feelings to develop; which is good, because Zayn changes his lovers like he changes his socks. Which is a lot.

On the ride to Heathrow, Louis skims the email sent to him about the rest of his team. There's Liam Payne, marine biologist, top of his class. Niall Horan, well-known conservationist, very Irish, Louis has even seen some of his podcasts on water pollution, he's a funny guy. Then there's a list of the captain, the ship's crew, and where they'll be stopping in each country. Honestly, Louis isn't much for sailing, so he relaxes a little when he reads that the ship was built in 2010 and is made to be lived in. Sort of like a miniature cruise ship, he tells himself.

**Norway**

They arrive at the dock in Norway and Louis can immediately spot the ship. It's huge, with the words "One Direction" painted on in giant, black letters. 

He hears Zayn release a sigh of relief. "Was a bit worried it was gonna look like the Titanic."

Louis chuckles and makes his way over to the ship. He recognizes his team immediately, and not because one of them is holding a sign with the words "Tomlinson & Malik" on it. You know, like the signs the cute boy next door always ends up holding at the airport in the cliche romance films that Louis does absolutely  _not_ watch.

"Hi," The boy with the sign greets them excitedly. "I'm Liam, I'll be your marine biologist for the trip."

"I'm Niall," Louis recognizes him and smiles. "If I see you throw anything into the water that isn't biodegradable I will cut off your arms."

"Niall!" Liam scolds.

"It's quite all right, Liam." Louis interjects. "I've seen his podcasts, I know he's harmless. I'm Louis and this is my photographer, Zayn."

Louis is just about to ask when they can board when someone calls Liam's name from the ship.

"Liam! Are they here yet? Uncle Bobby wants to get going and all the bunks are empty." The voice is close now and Louis has to lift is head to look at him and, God this boy is tall. 

"Harry, call him _The Captain_ , honestly, you're so unprofessional." Liam mutters.

"Hi," The boy, Harry, says excitedly, extending his arm. Louis takes his hand and shakes it, ignoring the contrast in the size of their hands. "I'm Harry! My uncles the captain and I'm the resident cook. If you wanna follow me, I can show you to your bunks and then we can ship out! I hope you like chicken and rice, I made loads for dinner."

Louis zones out as he follows Harry onto the ship and below deck. 

"You and Mr. Malik-"

"Zayn."

"Right." Harry laughs. "You and Zayn are bunking together here. Liam and Niall are right next door, and I'm another deck down next to the kitchen. You can get settled in and everything. Dinner's in an hour up top and if you're late Niall will probably eat your serving." And then, he's gone.

"They're all weird." Zayn mutters, laughing. 

"Dunno, Harry's kind of fit. Liam was definitely eyeing you."

"Shut up, it's too early. Wake me for dinner." Zayn says, flopping down on his bed and bringing the pillow up to cover his face.

The bunk is nice, bigger than Louis expected. There are two beds on either side of the room and a large desk in the center against the wall below a small circular window.

When Louis and Zayn arrive on the top deck about an hour later, he almost forgets he's on a boat. He didn't really get a good look before, and it's dimly lit by the yellow lights that line the insides of the hull, but the atmosphere resembles a friendly party. They take the two empty seats between Liam and a member of the crew and dig in.

Louis learns that Liam has been following a specific Greenland shark for almost a year, mapping out her route and using a tracker clipped to her fin to locate her. 

"I have a radar that picks her up when she's about 20 miles out, which gives us a full day, or night, before she's close enough to observe."

Louis nods along to Liam's story about how they got the tracker on her in the first place, but lets his eyes roam the rest of the table. The crew is made up of 20 other men and, not that he's looking for him, but Louis notices that Harry isn't one of them. After dinner, everyone excuses themselves to their bunks. Louis hadn't even noticed how tired he was until his head hit the pillow.

The next day they arrive on the upper deck at about midday. Liam is checking the radar while Harry pours steaming hot butternut squash soup into thermoses for everyone. Louis doesn't mind the cold, and it's May so the weather is in the double digits, but he's heard it gets pretty cold once the sun goes down, especially out at sea. He sips from the thermos and revels in the fact that he can feel Harry's eyes on him.

"The radar picked her up last night so she should be here within the hour." Liam informs them. "I'll let you know when she's close but you might want to set up your camera, Zayn."

Because Greenland sharks tend to swim thousands of feet below the surface, Zayn has to put his camera in a special waterproofed bag, attach it to a line, and lower it into the water. He takes a picture and can rotate the camera using a small control pad.

"It's like a really long selfie stick." Louis says to himself, though he swears he hears Harry giggle.

Louis uses the time spent waiting to write his introduction for his article. He outlines the trip and the preliminaries and, because he tends to zone out when he writes, misses all the excitement until Zayn is shoving his camera in his face.

"Lou, look! She's gigantic!" And, is that excitement? From Zayn? Liam must be rubbing off on him because this is weird.

"She's got a dick on her back." Louis says flatly, causing Harry to bark out a laugh.

"Her spots do look very phallic." Liam comments, furrowing his brows as he looks at the camera.

"So eloquent, Liam." Louis teases. "If I was a shark, I'd hate to have a dick on my back. S'not very intimidating and scary."

"Mate, if you were a shark you'd have a dick in your arse, which isn't very intimidating either." Zayn says smugly, earning a horrified look from Liam and a glare from Louis. Harry, on the other hand, has gone red in the face and is very focused on stirring the soup pot.

Interesting.

Harry makes lunch on the upper deck and Louis catches himself staring as he watches the taller boy put sandwiches together with an adorable look of determination on his face.

"Need any help there, Harold?" Louis asks after watching him take apart a sandwich only to rebuild it again.

"S'just Harry, and no. I just put the lettuce on in the wrong order." Honestly.

"You have an order? For a turkey sandwich?" Louis asks in disbelief.

"He's strange, isn't he?" Niall asks. "Has on order for putting ingredients in a stew, too. He's lucky his cookings so good cause he's weird as shit."

"I'm standing right here, Niall."

"Yeah," Louis laughs. "Otherwise he might put your turkey sandwich together backwards and who knows what could happen to you!"

Harry flips him off so Louis sends him a blinding smile before returning to his work. He writes about how pretty Norway is, the weather, how the photos were taken, and where they're headed next.

The shark stays in the area for a few days, allowing for Zayn to get a few more pictures. But mostly, they all sit in Louis and Zayn's bunk and hangout while Louis writes. Every couple of hours Liam will give him a random shark fact for him to write in the margin for later. Harry, on the other hand, is wildly unhelpful and only offers up shark puns into the conversation.

"Hey, Lou. What's a shark's favorite movie?"

"I don't know, Harry." Louis responds, not even sparing a glance up at the taller boy who is no doubt trying to hold back a laugh before he can deliver the punchline.

"The Shaw-Shark Redemption!" 

Louis looks up and holds eye contact with Harry for a few seconds, showing him that he's not going to laugh, and then returns to his writing. He has to bite back a smile, though, because Harry looked awfully proud of himself and it was kind of endearing.

"Do you get it?" Harry asks, looking around. "Like Shawshank Redemption?" 

"Oh, no, we get it. Just wasn't funny." Zayn teases him. "Even Niall didn't laugh."

Harry pouts and honestly, it should not be adorable seeing a 6 foot man-child pout, but this is Harry we're talking about, so Louis should have expected it.

"I can do better, just give me a few days." Harry promises, Louis just shakes his head.

Eventually, everyone returns to their respective bunks and Harry makes his way down to the lowest deck.

"He doesn't talk much, does he?" Harry asks Liam before the separate. Liam just shrugs.

**Iceland**

It takes about two weeks to get to Iceland. Greenland sharks are notoriously slow swimmers, so the ship moves pretty slowly. Half the time Louis thinks they shut the engine off and just let her drift. Not that he minds, it gives him plenty of time to write. It's just that, Louis has always wanted to be a writer and now he has a shot at writing a story for the front page. His name will be printed on the cover along with the title of his piece. That's a big deal, so his article has to be perfect. And if that means rewriting his introduction paragraph six times, then so be it.

Liam has it mapped out that it'll take the shark about 20 days to make it to Iceland, so they anchor out at sea for the majority of the day and sail at night.

When they finally arrive, they decide to walk around the port. Harry goes off to the market to restock the kitchen, so Louis and Zayn search for souvenirs. Louis buys a paperweight with a ceramic shark inside and Zayn eventually decides on a pair of sunglasses. Naturally. It's a bit colder in Iceland so they head back to the ship before the sun sets. Louis is proofreading his part about Norway when Niall stops by. He presents Louis with a shirt that says "I <3 Icelandic Boys" in bold letters on the front, with the Icelandic flag in the heart.

"Honestly Niall, I make _one_ comment about Darri Ingolfsson's cameo in Dexter and you go and do this." Louis says, rolling his eyes.

"Did you give it to him?" Harry asks, bouncing into the room.

"Yeah, now if he ever meets Darri, he's set."

Harry turns towards Louis and released his lip form where it was caught between his teeth. "You like them all manly and rugged like that, then?" He asks. It would be a completely innocent question if it wasn't for the fact that Louis can feel Harry's eyes on him at all times when they're on the top deck. If Harry wants to know what he's into, who's Louis to keep him from finding out.

Louis eyes Harry with a smirk. "Actually, I prefer them tall and lanky. He's got the eyes, though." Louis doesn't even check Harry's reaction, knowing Zayn is doing it for him, and turns back to his bed to resume writing.

Harry makes freshly baked salmon from the port market for dinner and Louis doesn't mention the obvious second helping of mashed potatoes on his plate. Niall, on the other hand, complains about rationing and Louis has to stab him with his fork twice before he stops trying to steal his food. 

Louis knows Zayn is going to ask before he even opens his mouth.

"So, Harry, huh? Bit unfair of you to say that about the eyes." Zayn whispers into the dark room. They're already in bed for the night, though Louis would rather be up revising. 

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, come off it. You know very well Harry's eyes are green."

"Are they?" Louis asks, trying to sound uninterested. "I hadn't noticed."

"Louis." Zayn says sternly. "You know he's half in love with you already, you're not that blind."

Louis is quiet for a moment, trying to shake the image of Harry's eyes out of his head. "Liam's pretty fit, isn't he?" Louis asks, and he can hear Zayn gasp. "You're right that I'm not blind. I see you pining over him, pretending to need help with the camera line so you can watch him put it all together."

Zayn laughs sadly. "Pretty sure he's with Niall, to be honest. I mean, they're bunking together."

"So are we." Louis points out.

"Yeah, but have you seen them interact?"

"No, Zayn, I spend my time on this ship actually working, not watching Liam's every move."

"Shut up." Zayn sighs. "I don't know, I just get the feeling they're together. But don't change the subject." Zayn says pointedly. "Harry."

Now it's Louis' turn to sigh. "I mean, he's cute, right? And he's obviously interested. Who's to say I can't shag him if I wanted to? S'not like there's anything else to do."

Zayn scoffs, but he doesn't say anything else, so Louis lets himself drift off to sleep.

A week and endless pining later - thanks for that, Zayn - the shark finally makes her way to Iceland. Liam and Zayn are setting up the camera when Louis catches Harry humming the tune to Baby Beluga.

"You know that songs about a whale, right?" Louis asks him.

"So? She looks like a Beluga, so that's her name."

"How can a shark look like its name should be a species of whale?"

"Liam!" Harry calls. "Please explain to Louis that the sharks name is Beluga."

Liam shrugs. "He named her last night when the radar picked her up."

"It's a ridiculous name." Louis mutters. Harry is about to comment, but "Beluga" breaks the surface of the water and lets out a weird noise before floating on her side.

"Zayn, get the camera out of the water!" Louis yells, rushing over to the side of the ship. "Get a picture! Quick!"

"I can't believe it." Liam whispers to himself in excitement. "She's pregnant!"

Harry starts belting out the damn song again, and he's lucky his voice is nice otherwise Louis would probably throw him overboard. Zayn snaps a lot of pictures to examine later, all the while talking excitedly with Liam.

Over dinner, Liam approximates that she's probably very close to giving birth. "Even though their gestation period is unknown, Greenland sharks usually stay thousands of feet below the surface. Females tend to swim closer to the surface when they're getting ready to give birth so her babies can find and catch fish more easily. This is incredible."

They're just about to finish eating when Harry turns to Louis.

"What's a shark's favorite bible story?"

"Someone else answer, I want no part in this." Louis says, waving his hand dismissively. 

"Noah's Shark!" Niall yells suddenly. Louis laughs, then, because the disappointed look on Harry's face from having the punchline stolen from him is the funniest thing Louis has ever seen.

"Screw you, Niall. Just for that, you're not getting any pudding tomorrow."

Niall yells dramatically and throws himself onto the table at that. "I'm so sorry, Master Chef Harry! Please, tell another one! I promise not to ruin it. Also, chocolate or vanilla?"

"Chocolate. Now, why do sharks live in the ocean and not the sky?"

"Why?" Niall asks in mock enthusiasm.

"Because the sky is Jet territory."

Louis lets out a surprised laugh and Harry looks more than pleased. "Points for the West Side Story reference, Harrison. I'll also have you know that I am an expert pudding maker and if you ask nicely I will consider helping you."

Zayn snorts but Louis can't even bother to comment when Harry is looking at him like he's going to explode. He ignores the pointed looks from the rest of the boys because he really is quite good at making pudding and this has nothing to do with him trying to get laid but _thank you very much for the encouraging wink, Zayn._

"So, Harriet, how did you end up cooking on your uncles ship?" Louis asks once the pudding is safely stored in the fridge.

"My name's just Harry, you do know that, right?" Harry asks, smiling.

"Of course I do, Henry. Now answer the question."

Harry sighs, but answers nonetheless, a smile never leaving his face. "Well, my uncle used to take me fishing all the time when I was little. And then, when I was about twelve, he brought me to one of the docks and showed me his first ship, Johanna. She was huge, but not as huge as One Direction, though when I was twelve she was definitely the biggest ship I'd ever seen. Anyway, he showed me around and told me that he was the captain and that he was sailing to Amsterdam and my parents told him I could come. And, I dunno, it was insane. I decided pretty early that I didn't really want to go to uni so my uncle told me that if I learned to cook, I could be his resident chef on his ship. Been doing it for a few years now and I love it. I get to travel and do something I'm good at, it's fantastic." 

Louis watches the way Harry's eyes light up, and every gesture of his hands. He can tell Harry's genuinely happy with his life and it makes Louis' heart swell because if he's learned anything so far from this trip, it's that people like Harry deserve to be happy. And that Greenland sharks are attracted to the smell of rotting meat. Thanks for the mood killer, Liam.

"What about you?" Harry asks, breaking Louis out of his intense daydream about the way Harry's lips look when he talks.

"Oh, uh, I'm a bit boring, actually. Went to uni, studied journalism. Minored in theater but I haven't really done anything with that since. Interned at National Geographic for a year where I met Zayn, got a job as the editors secretary, and now I'm about to write my first ever cover story."

"That's pretty incredible." Harry assures him.

You're pretty incredible. Louis thinks. Instead, he teases Harry for the shit name he came up with for the shark.

"Beluga is a cute name!" Harry whines.

They end up staying up very late, talking about Harry's love for sharks, especially Beluga, and Louis' excitement about his article. At some point, they fall asleep because the next thing Louis knows, he's waking up in Harry's bed with Harry in a makeshift bed on the floor. He nudges Harry with his foot to wake him up.

"You didn't have to sleep on the floor, you weirdo." Louis tells him through a yawn.

Harry sits up and shrugs. "S'fine. Wasn't sure what your boundaries were. Didn't want you to wake up and feel uncomfortable." Harry stretches his arms up and winces.

"Your back hurt?" Louis asks, like he doesn't already feel bad enough Harry slept on the floor, lets give him an injury, too.

"A little." Harry shrugs again.

"Well if you had just kissed me last night like I was practically begging you to do, you wouldn't be having that problem now would you?" Louis says it casually. So casually, in fact, that it takes Harry a second to register what he's said.

"You...you wanted me to kiss you?" He asks, slowly. Like he's not sure he heard Louis right.

Louis doesn't answer, instead he watches as Harry moves towards the bed, kneeling so that they're at eye level. They hold eye contact, both desperately searching for confirmation that this is actually happening. Louis is just about to let his eyes close, the two of them still shifting closer, when Zayn's voice sends them springing apart.

"Harry! You down there? Have you seen Louis? Beluga's not on the radar anymore so we're setting sail and Niall wants to know where breakfast is."

Louis sighs in frustration but kisses Harry swiftly on the cheek before taking the steps two at a time to catch up with Zayn.

"Knew you were down there." Zayn mutters as soon as Louis falls into step with him.

"Shut up." 

They sit at the table and Louis can't help but blush every time him and Harry make eye contact for the rest of the day. He'd feel more embarrassed about it if Harry wasn't doing the same.

**Greenland**

The weather is beautiful when they arrive in Greenland and Louis almost forgets its been a week since his and Harry's almost kiss. They haven't hung out alone much since then, with Louis writing the Iceland part of his article and Harry always busy in the kitchen. They dock at Kulusuk Island and Harry informs them that his uncle decided they're going to stay in port for a week.

"It'll take Beluga about two weeks to get here, so we can explore the island and stuff!" Liam reacts excitedly.

"Louis and I are gonna go into the market and restock the kitchen." Harry says hurriedly, grabbing Louis' arm and dragging him off the ship before the others offer to tag along.

"I feel like I've been kidnapped" Louis jokes as soon as they step off the ship.

Harry laughs and intertwines their fingers together as they make their way towards the market. Louis feels like he's back in elementary school, blushing over a bit of hand holding. He stops at one of the souvenir tables and sneakily buys Harry an apron with the Greenland flag on the front before catching up with him at the market. 

Together they plan out the following weeks dinner ingredients and Louis is somehow conned into agreeing to help Harry cook once they ship out to sea.

"It'll be fun! We'll even make something easy!"

Louis really needs to learn to say to no, to Harry, at least. He's a proper disaster in the kitchen and the last thing he needs is to burn Harry's uncles ship to the ground. Well, ocean, actually.

They make it back to the ship by sundown and Harry goes off to prepare dinner. Louis goes into his bunk to finish up his section on Iceland and ends up changing the shark's name to Beluga. After dinner, Zayn and Louis go through the film and pick which pictures they want to keep so far. Liam also gives him a few more facts to add in.

"They're near threatened on the endangered scale, but they can live for an estimated 200 years. They're super slow swimmers, though. That's why this trip is so long. They barely travel at 2 miles an hour."

"Slow and steady." Louis comments.

"Why did the shark cross the Great Barrier Reef?" Harry asks after a beat. This time, though, he cant wait for the others to respond before he's blurting out the punch line through his laughter. "To get to the other tide!"

Everyone collectively groans, including the other crew members who are still sat at the table from dinner. 

Louis finally has some free time to write once they set out to sea a few days later now that Harry can't drag him onto the island to explore. He's sat in his bunk writing while Harry sits opposite him on the bed reading, their legs and feet tangled together in a casual game of footsies. They're anchored in the middle of the Atlantic just below Greenland, the waves are a bit rough today but Louis finds the subtle rocking of the boat soothing. What's not soothing, however, is how cuddly Harry looks. Louis can't write more than a few words before he's glancing up and watching the way Harry catches his bottom lip between his teeth as he reads.

He gets about a sentence in before he gives up writing and launches himself on top of Harry, pressing their mouths together. Harry lets out a surprised yelp before he's wrapping his arms around Louis' waist and pulling him in impossibly closer. They can hear the sounds of the other boys yelling and playing footie on the upper deck, but Louis just focuses on the feel of Harry's tongue against his. They kiss for what feels like hours, but is only a few minutes, until they're breathless and Harry mentions regretfully that he has to start dinner. Louis follows him to the kitchen, his article long forgotten, and waits very patiently for Harry to place the dinner in the oven before he kisses him again.

They end up accidentally burning the halibut casserole and Niall is outraged at the jam and toast Harry presents instead.

"I can't believe you two! What're we supposed to do? I'm gonna end up eating Beluga at this rate!"

“You don’t wanna do that, Niall. A Greenland shark’s meat is the most poisonous out of any other sharks! You’d have to boil it in several different pots of water beforehand or ferment it for months by exposing it to cycles of freezing and thawing. If they weren’t so endangered we could have picked some up in Greenland, actually. It’s called Hakari.”

“Shut up, Liam.” Niall replies bitterly, taking a bite of his toast.

Louis and Harry giggle and Niall glares at them.

Eventually, they call it a night. Niall complains of starving to death and states very clearly that he'd eat Louis first if it came down to it. Harry kisses Louis goodnight and Louis ignores Zayn's looks when they reach their bunk. 

The next day they pull into port on the other side of Greenland in Nuuk. Louis and Harry pick up extra food incase they have another halibut casserole incident. They hold hands and exchange kisses and Harry secretly buys Louis a pen that gives you different facts about Greenland every time you click it.

When they arrive back on the ship, Louis decides to start the Greenland section of his article, even though Beluga hasn't shown up yet. That doesn't happen, however, when he walks in on a very topless Liam kissing a very topless Zayn in Zayn's bed.

"How long as this been going on, then?" Louis asks, doing his best stern and disappointed mother impression.

"Louis get out." Zayn sighs, rolling his eyes.

"I thought Liam was with Niall?"

"Ages ago, we're just mates now." Liam pipes up.

"Well then." Louis nods. "Thank you for not doing it in my bed and congratulations Zayn. Liam's well fit, look at him!"

"Louis get out!" Zayn yells, his annoyance almost as evident as Liam's embarrassment.

Louis grabs a bag off his bed and his notebook and closes the door behind him, but not before blowing an exaggerated kiss at Zayn.

He enters Harry's bunk and immediately complains about how awful it is to share a room with Zayn.

"I mean, honestly." Louis sighs, flopping down next to Harry. "He's only here because of me. I could have chosen any photographer the magazine has but I had to go and pick the one tosser who would sexile me from my own room."

Harry laughs and cuddles himself into Louis' side. "You could spend the night here, if you want."

Louis smiles and grabs the bag off the floor. "I got you something." Louis mumbles, handing the bag with apron in it over to Harry.

"Me too." Harry blushes, grabbing the pen out of his back pocket and placing it in Louis' hand.

"We're right cute, aren't we?" Louis laughs.

"Looks like." Harry agrees, pressing a quick kiss to Louis' nose.

Louis writes his article in the kitchen while Harry cooks. Niall checks in every few minutes to make sure they don't burn anything.

"Honestly, Niall." Louis sighs dramatically after the fourth time. "What do you think we are, rabbits or something? We are adults, we can control ourselves."

Niall's only response is a disagreeing laugh. Louis throws a roll at him when he peeks his head in twenty minutes later.

It's especially cold that night, so they decide to eat dinner in Louis and Zayn's bunk. Louis makes sure to inform Niall not to sit on Zayn's bed unless he wants to be covered in god knows what. Not that there's room, anyway, what with Zayn and Liam cuddled up on it and practically feeding each other. It's disgusting. At least him and Harry are normal and eat without their limbs being attached at every possible point. Zayn lets Louis go through the pictures he took of Beluga, who apparently showed up while Louis and Harry were in the kitchen. Louis pretends not to notice the disgusting amount of pictures of Liam he finds if he scrolls too far and instead shows Harry his favorite picture of Beluga, which causes them to start singing the song, hands intertwined while they sway back and forth.

"I've really got to get back to London and see my girlfriend." Niall whines.

"Wait, Niall. You live in London?" Louis asks.

"Yeah, why?" 

"So do me and Zayn!"

"You live in London?" Liam asks him. Zayn nods excitedly. "So do me and Harry!"

Harry tightens his hold around Louis' waist at the news and Louis feels hopeful and happy.

**Canada**

They leave Greenland and anchor in the Atlantic for a week. The weather is nice so they spend most of their time playing footie and fishing. They make s'mores one night and Niall eats all of the leftover graham crackers. They arrive in Canada overnight and Niall wont shut up about Niagara Falls, no matter how many times Liam explains to him that they're nowhere near it.

After a week of Niall's whining, Liam approaches the rest of them about making the trip.

"Even with the head-start we gave her, its still going to take her a couple of weeks to get here. If it'll shut him up, I'm willing to do it. We can radio the airport in Gander and fly in."

"That sounds like fun." Harry nods, squeezing Louis' shoulder.

They tell Niall the next day and Louis is amazed none of them sustained bruises from how hard he hugged them.

The ride from where they docked to the airport is boring so Liam gives Louis some more facts to keep in mind.

"They mostly eat fish, but sometimes they can even eat smaller sharks or mammals. The females are usually bigger than the males, but only by a foot or two. But they have like, 50 teeth that they use to rip through the flesh of other animals and-"

"Liam, I think I have enough facts to write ten articles. Harry, how about a joke?"

Harry absolutely beams at that. "How did the crazy shark become normal again?"

"How?" Niall asks, forcefully.

"Electro-shark therapy!"

The airport cab driver lets out a short laugh while Zayn groans.

"That really was awful, babe. Sorry." Louis says softly, pressing a kiss to Harry's shoulder. 

"We're here!" Niall shouts, and he barely lets the car stop before he's running towards the airport.

They fly right into Niagara Falls. It's a short flight, but Niall lectures them the whole way about water pollution and how Niagara Falls "might not even exist soon if people don't stop littering and start recycling."

"Niall, if I promise to recycle the second we get back to London will you shut up?" Louis offers.

"Yes."

"Deal. Now shut up."

They decide to spend two weeks in Niagara Falls to make sure Niall gets his touristy fix. Louis and Harry share a room, as do Liam and Zayn. Niall opts to have his own room so he can Skype with his girlfriend before he goes to bed. Right.

The next day they plan out their spur of the moment vacation.

"We have to do the Maid of the Mist!" Niall insists.

"And the Rainbow Bridge!" Harry cuts in.

"I wanna do the Skywheel and the Skylon Tower! The view is supposed to be incredible."

"Zayn, what about you?" Harry asks.

"The Journey Behind the Falls would be cool."

The next two weeks fly by in a love-induced haze on all accounts. They go out to dinner, walk around Niagara Falls. But mostly, they spend time sitting beside the waterfall in silence, enjoying the view and each others company. Louis would never give Niall the satisfaction of knowing, but he's really glad his bitching led them here.

He's gotten to know Harry really well in the conversations before they fall asleep. He learned that Harry likes to be the little spoon, he's got an older sister called Gemma, when he was little he wanted to be a cruise ship entertainer, he's had five boyfriends and three girlfriends, his mum and step-dad live in Holmes Chapel, and his favorite color is blue.

Louis tells him about his five younger sisters and one younger brother, his mum and step-dad who live in Doncaster, how he's had three boyfriends and one girlfriend before he knew he was gay and how none of them ended on good terms, and how this is the first time he's felt truly happy since before his mom remarried.

Harry kisses him at that and Louis is the first one to break it. "What are your plans when we get back to London?"

"What do you mean?" 

"Well, like. What do you plan to do when you get back? Are you shipping back out with your uncle? Or-"

"Yeah, I think I'd stay awhile." He whispers, pulling Louis closer to him.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

They eventually make it back to the ship and anchor out at sea. Louis uses the next week to catch up on writing his article, much to Harry's dismay. 

"Harry stop pouting, you're like a child. The sooner I finish this the sooner I can get your dick in my mouth, alright?" Which is apparently all the encouragement Harry needs to let Louis finish his article. Naturally.

They still have about 2 weeks before Beluga is estimated to arrive, so they decide to port at Nova Scotia and visit the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Liam somehow convinced them all to go camping so that's what they do. Well, he convinced Zayn, who convinced Harry, who convinced Louis; and Niall tagged long so he wouldn't be left out.

There's lots of kissing and barbecues and campfire songs. Louis is grateful Niall came so he has someone on his side when Harry refuses to get up and cook them all dinner. Liam and Zayn would probably starve to death and not even notice they're that gone for each other. It's awful. At least Louis and Harry can be in love and still function in society.

When they finally pack up camp and go back out to sea, Harry teaches Louis to cook. He doesn't say anything as he sets the meal on the table for everyone to eat. They get about ten minutes in before Harry is tapping his fork on his plate, signaling that he has an announcement. He clears his throat dramatically and Louis can feel himself blush, already knowing what Harry is about to say.

"I hope everyone is enjoying their meal." He practically sings. Everyone responds with positive mumbles are Harry's face looks like its about to split in half. "Good. I would just like to inform you that your delicious meal was prepared for you by none other than our very own Louis Tomlinson."

"Louis you made this?" Niall asks in disbelief.

"Harry helped." 

"It's really good." Liam adds.

"Thanks, but Harry's being ridiculous."

"Am not!"

"Harry, what's this called? Gonna have Louis make it for me when we get back."

"Tell 'em, Lou."

Louis sighs, thankful the rest of the crew had already gone back to their own conversations and weren't paying witness to this ridiculous conversation.

"It's just chicken stuffed with mozzarella wrapped in parma ham." Harry raises his eyebrow. "With a side of homemade mash. Happy?" Harry nods, smiling.

"Well it's really good, Louis." Liam says again.

"Alright thank you just eat your food and Harry stop smiling." Louis orders with fake annoyance.

Over the next few days Louis filters through the photos and tries to narrow it down to the top three shots for the cover. He tries to ignore how obviously anxious everyone is, especially Liam, over the fact that Beluga hasn't shown up yet. Liam radioed his people back in London to find out where she is.

"My radar can only pick up her tracker within a 20 mile radius, but back at the lab they have the whole ocean mapped. As soon as they radio me back with her location we can try and figure out what's taking her so long."

They hear back two days later that she's about 40 miles out but she's definitely moving so she probably just got sidetracked. When she finally shows up on the radar, everyone breathes a sigh of relief. Zayn sets up his camera and sets it to video so he can make sure she's not hurt. Before he can get his camera in the water, though, Harry yells that he can see her.

"Oh my god." Liam whispers.

"Holy shit." Niall shouts, leaning over the side of the ship.

"Beluga had babies!" Harry yells, bouncing on his heels.

"She must have given birth on her way to Canada so it slowed her down." 

"There's so many!" 

"Ten pups per litter is normal, Louis." Liam informs him.

Zayn gets a bunch of shots of the babies and Beluga while Harry starts to sing and the others cant help but join in.

_Baby Beluga in the deep blue sea_

_Swim so wild and swim so free_

_The heaven above and sea below_

_See the little white whale on the go_

Harry runs below deck to fetch the raw fish they have left over from before the restocked in Nova Scotia and they all take turns throwing some into the water. Zayn takes more photos and Harry decides to throw the babies a birthday party. He bakes cupcakes, three different pies, a broccoli and cheddar casserole and grills up a steak.

"Where did you even find steak, Harry?"

"I was saving it for a special occasion!"

"Why did you make a pie and cupcakes?" Niall asks, filling up his place.

"The cupcakes are for the baby Beluga's" And honestly, Louis couldn't be any more endeared. 

**England**

It takes about a week of straight sailing to make it back to England. Louis uses the first three days to finish up his article and finalize all the pictures. It would have only taken one day if Harry didn't keep offering to blow him every time he finished a page, which led to other things, and honestly how was Louis supposed to focus on anything else.

They arrive at the docks in Cardiff and agree to head to their respective homes to settle back into life on dry land. Louis hands in his article and his boss loves it. He officially becomes part of the cover story rotation and Harry suggests they all meet up for drinks to celebrate. Liam is the last to arrive and he looks like he's ready to burst.

"What is it, Liam. Spit it out before your brain pops." Louis laughs.

"My old professor called me the other night to tell me they found the largest Pygmy shark off the coast of Australia. It was almost three feet long which is like, a lot. D'you reckon National Geographic would wanna do an article on it?"

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos greatly appreciated! :)


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